Coil remover



April 22 1969 E, WQODRQW ET AL 3,439,882

COIL REMOVER Sheet Filed Sept. 2?, 1966 INVENTORS William J. Hill Hurold E Woodrow mpazzz/z *fiw ATTORNEYS April 22, 1969 WOODRQW ET AL Q 3,439,882

CO IL REMOVER Filed Sept. 27, 1966 Sheet 3 of 4 f I 4 56 i 2 ,l 3 4o 5 -l E 52 INVENTORS William J. Hill Harold E. Woodrow 642M, @Zizrb T%4 ATTORNEYS April 2, 1969 H. E. WOODROW ET 3,439,882

COIL REMOVER 7 Filed Sept. 27, 1966 Sheet of 4 INVENTORS William J. Hill Harold E. Woodrow Mama/e xW ATTORNEYS April 22, 1969 H. E. WOODROW ET Al. 3,439,882

COIL REMOVER Sheet 4 M4 Filed Sept. 27. 1966 INVENTORS WiHicm J. Hill Harold E. Woodrow M can v%..4

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,439,882 COIL REMOVER Harold E. Woodrow, Worcester, and William J. Hill,

Holden, Mass., assignors to Morgan Construction Company, Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Sept. 27, 1966, Ser. No. 582,314 Int. Cl. B21c 47/24 US. Cl. 242-81 13 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A coil bundle forming mechanism in the form of a turnstile, having spoke-like mandrels extending from a hub rotatable on a horizontal axis, receives rod coils on the mandrels in vertical position and discharges the completed bundle with the mandrel in the horizontal position. The bundle support is slida'ble on the mandrel to accommodate the size of the bundle and discharge the completed bundle.

This invention relates generally to a mechanism for forming bundles of coils which are delivered in continuous sequence and particularly to such apparatus as is employed to handle relatively large diameter material such as rolled steel rods which has previously been formed into relatively large coils or loops by a laying head and is delivered at high speed through a delivery outlet. While this is the primary field of application of the disclosed embodiment, it will be apparent that the mechanism disclosed can be used for handling other materials and the claims accordingly are to be interpreted as including such other applications.

In the collection of continually delivered coils into bundles suitable for storage and shipment it is required that a well formed stable bundle be produced and as each bundle is completed that provision be made for its removal while the equipment is conditioned to start the formation of the next bundle. Since in a continuous rolling mill more than one bundle may be formed from a single billet and the coils will be formed from rod that is being rolled and issued from the mill at an extremely high linear speed it is essential that the mechanism be capable of operating at a high rate of speed so that the transfer of a full bundle and the start of the formation of a new bundle occurs without an undue accumulation of coils during the transfer period. The speed of operation of the mill and the economy of storage and handling require that the coils be formed into relatively large bundles and hence the high speed of operation must be achieved with relatively large scale and massive machinery components in order to accommodate bundles which are 3,000 pounds or greater in weight. With such large bundles another problem which is required to be solved is the handling of the bundle in a manner which permits the taking of samples from the leading and trailing ends of a bundle since these ends if they represent the leading and trailing end of product rolled from a billet are in general deformed and should be discarded and with respect to all bundles it is generally desirable to sample the product at both ends of the bundle in order to ascertain that rolling and subsequent treatment to which the rod may have been subjected are producing uniform product.

A further problem which is presented in the formation of relatively large bundles of rod coils is the formation of a firm base for the coil made up of the first few coils which are deposited in a new bundle so that the subsequently deposited coils will build up and be formed into a bundle which is stable for compacting, storage, and shipment, as required. In the present invention the speed of the transition between the completion of one bundle and the beginning of the formation of the next bundle facili- 3,439,882 Patented Apr. 22, 1969 "ice tates this procedure by limiting the total number of coils which are stored during the transfer cycle of the mechanism. By virtue of the structural arrangements of the present invention an initial core guide is provided for the accumulated coils as they are deposited to form the base for the bundle so that these coils take their proper position for supporting the subsequently deposited coils in the bundle.

It is accordingly the principal object of the present invention to provide a mechanism for accepting continuously deposited coils and forming relatively large compact and stable bundles therefrom with provision for avoiding the principal deficiencies in prior arrangements for this purpose above enumerated. In particular it is an object of the invention to provide a bundle forming mechanism which has a short transfer time for removing a finished bundle and starting the piling of the next subsequent bundle. A further object is the provision of a bundle forming mechanism which permits the sampling of both the leading and trailing ends of the rod coils which are formed into the bundle. Another object of the invention is the provision of a bundle forming mechanism which provides an initial core guide arrangement for accumulated coils that are dropped upon the initiation of the formation of a bundle to provide a stable base for the buildup of the coils in the bundle. Another object of the invention is the provision of a relatively symmetrical and balanced structure capable of moving through its cycle for forming massive bundles of rod coils while handling such bundles with efliciency and speed and requiring relatively small power driven components.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a vertical mandrel bundle forming and handling device in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view partly in section taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken along the line 33 of FIG. 2; and,

FIG. 4 is a view in cross section taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2 the preferred embodiment of the invention will be seen to comprise spaced vertical columns 10 and 12 resting on a recessed floor level 14 and extending to support horizontal beams 16 and 18. The beams 16 and 18 are supported at their ends in any suitable manner and provide along their top surfaces spaced parallel supporting surfaces generally at the level of the mill floor 20.

The beams 16 and 18 support above columns 10 and 12, H-sections 22 and 24 upon which are mounted bearing housings 26 and 28. The bearing housings 26 and 28 rotatably support trunnions 30 which extend from a hub 29. The hub 29 has the form of a cube with the trunnions 30 extending from opposed faces of the cube and the remaining four faces 38 providing a base for the cantilever support of four mandrels as hereinafter described. A coupling 32 connects one trunnion 30 to a gear reduction unit 34 which is driven by an electric motor 36. The motor 36 and the gear reduction 34 are arranged in any suitable fashion to be controlled for rotating the hub '29 in the direction indicated and in increments 'with indexed positions to stop the hub 29 corresponding to horizontal and vertical positions of the faces 38.

The hub 29 supports mandrels 40 with 90 spacing between adjacent mandrels. The mandrels 40 are cantilever extensions from the flat faces 38 of the hub 29 to which they are secured by bolts not shown. Supported in sliding and rolling contact along each mandrel 40 is a platen 42 which serves as the movable support for piling the coils of a bundle when the respective mandrels 40 are in a vertical position beneath the delivery device 44.

The delivery device 44 includes a shelf 45 slidable horizontally to interrupt the dropping of coils on the vertical mandrel 40 and a shear means 47 for severing the continuous strand connecting the completed bundle to the coils accumulating on the shelf 45. One such arrangement is disclosed and claimed in the patent to Morgan et al. No. 3,176,385.

The platens 42 also are movable to push the bundle off the mandrel when in the horizontal position, as indicated in FIG. 1 where a bundle 46 is indicated in outline and its position after it has initially been pushed onto a horizontal receiving member 50 is shown. The receiving member 50 will generally provide a mating connection with the tapered end of the mandrel 40, as indicated.

The platens 42 on one diametrically opposed set of mandrels 40 are connected by rigid spaced rods 52 and the platens 42 on the other diametrically opposed pair of mandrels 40 are connected by rigid rods 54. The sets of rods 52 and 54 are spaced on opposite sides of both the hub 29 and the axis of rotation of trunnions 30 by sufficient distance to move axially as the platens 42 slide on the mandrels 40. As can be seen in FIG. 2 the spacing along the axis of rotation of the rods 52 is different than the spacing between the rods 54 such that the two sets do not interfere with each other. Each of the platens 42 is fitted with a roller 56 extending toward the plane defined by the support members and 16. The rollers 56 serve as cam followers for positioning the platens 42 for the various rotative positions of the mandrels 40 as hereinafter described.

The arrangements for moving the platens 42 to the various desired positions can be best seen by reference to FIG. 3. The motion imparting apparatus is supported on the vertical column 10 and horizontal beam 16 with the various actuators all located in a vertical plane that is substantially parallel to the plane of rotation of the mandrel 40 and located so that the projecting rollers 56 on the platens 42 engage the various actuators presently to be described.

Positioned along the vertical column 10 is a linear actuator, for example a lead screw 58, which is rotatably supported at the top end in a thrust bearing 60 and at the bottom through a coupling 62 to a right angle reduction drive 64 which is driven by a reversible electric motor 66. The motor 66 is also equipped with an electrically operated brake 68. The lead screw 58 when rotated serves to raise or lower a load cell carrier 70 by means of a nut 72 thereon which is in threaded engagement with the lead screw 58. For the purpose of guiding the carrier 70 it is equipped with side rollers 74 and back rollers 76 which ride in tracks formed by vertically spaced guide bars 78 supported on the vertical column 10.

The horizontal beam 16 supports on one side of the trunnion axis 30 a horizontal linear actuator, such as lead screw 80. The screw 80 rotates in a thrust bearing 82 at one end and a spherical alignment 84 bearing at the other end. The lead screw 80 is driven by a reversible electric motor 86 which when driven translates horizontally a cam carrier 90 which has a ball nut in threaded engagement with the screw 80. The carrier 90 has two spaced vertical cam engaging extension platens 92 and a downwardly extending roller 94 engage a track formed between horizontal spaced rails 96. The entire horizontal drive assembly rests upon a relatively wide H-section 98 which spaces the lead screw 80 above the floor level at the level of shaft 30 which distance corresponds to that required for adequate clearance of a bundle from the floor surface when loaded on a horizontally disposed mandrel. In order that the rollers 56 can be engaged with the extensions 92 as the mandrels 40 rotate from the lower vertical to horizontal position, the flange of H-section 98 is notched at 99.

In order properly to position the platens 42 as the hub 38 rotates the mandels 40 to their indexed horizontal and vertical positions, a cam track is provided having an upper portion 100 which is radial with respect to the axis of rotation of shaft 30 and a lower portion 102 which is not radial. The tracks 100 and 102 are formed by spaced parallel plates welded to a vertical supporting plate 104. The radial track 100 has an entrance opening 106 for receiving the rollers 56 on platens 42 which have descended on a vertical mandrel 40 in loading position beneath the discharge device 44 to a position adjacent the hub 38. Upon rotation of the hub 38 the cam follower 56 in position at the entrance 106 follows the radial path 100 until the horizontal indexed position is reached. An opening 108 is provided in the outer wall of the cam track to permit the roller 56 to pass therethrough when the horizontal lead screw 80 is operated to advance the platens and strip the bundle 46 from the horizontally disposed mandrel 40. After a bundle has been stripped and the platen 42 retracted so that the roller 56 is again in the cam track, rotation of the hub causes the roller 56 located adjacent the opening 108 to enter the non-radial cam track 102 which earns the roller 56 to an exit position 11-0 which is spaced below the axis of shaft 30 by a substantially greater distance than the radial distance to the track 100. By means of this camming action the platen 42 on the lower vertical mandrel 40 is moved to a lower position thereby retracting the platen 42 on the upper mandrel 40 which moves into delivery position. This action exposes a portion of the mandrel 40 above the upper platen 42 to receive and properly position the initial coils which have accumulated in the discharge device 44 while rotation has taken place. To bridge the gap between the exit opening 110 and the upper position of the carrier 70 a shelf 111 pivot supported at 113 is provided. In the event that the carrier 70 overtravels in the upward direction the shelf 111 is engaged on its under side by a projecting portion of the carrier 70 to pivot the shelf 111 to an inclined position.

Referring now to FIG. 4 the details of the platens 42 and their engagement for movement along the mandrel 40 will be described. A plate 41 forming the support surface for the plate 42 is square while holes 114 for receiving the connecting rods 52 and 54 are located at the corners of a rectangle thereby providing the different spacing for the rods 52 and the rods 54 previously described. In order for the platens 42 to be used on either set of mandrels the roller 56- would be located in alternate positions indicated at 56 or 56'. The plate 41 is centrally apertured with a hole substantially larger than the diameter of the mandrels 40. The hole is lined with a cylindrical wall 112 which is reinforced on the undersurface of the plate 41 by welded plate members extending in a reinforcing grid to the four corner holes 114. The inner surface of the cylindrical wall 112 supports a plurality of rectangular bar guides 116 and midway between the bar guides 116 a plurality of rollers 118.

Each mandrel 40 comprises a hollow square core formed by welded connection of four plates 120 to each of which is welded a sector shaped member 122. The sector shaped members 122 have a central recess in which the rollers 118 can roll. The spacing between adjacent sectors 122 forms a guide in which the bars 116 can slide. With this arrangement the support platen assembly 42 is guided to slide axially on the mandrels 40 by means of the bar guides 116 running in the slots formed between the sectors 122 and the weight of the assembly is supported by engagement of the rollers 118 on the recessed surface of the sectors 122.

The operation of the apparatus of the present invention will now be described.

Assuming the apparatus is operating in the condition indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upright mandrel 40 beneath the delivery device 44 has received the initial number of coils which were accumulated on the shelf 45 and the extension of the mandrel 40 above the platen 42 has properly positioned these coils to form the base for the bundle which is to be formed. As the continuous coils are delivered from the delivery device 44 the platen 42 is lowered by the action of the carrier 70 running down lead screw 58 which can be automatically or manually operated to rotate and lower the carrier 70. When the desired bundle size has been accumulated on the top mandrel 40 the shelf 45 is interposed across the delivery device 44 and shear 47 severs the strand thereby freeing the accumulated bundle from the delivery device. The motor 36 is then operated to rotate the entire mandrel and hub assembly through 90 which places the completed bundle 46 in the horizontal position indicated in FIG. 1. During this rotation, but after the roller 56 has disengaged the carrier 70, the lead screw 58 is reversed to raise the carrier 70 to a position opposite the shelf 111 for supporting the platen that moves into vertical position.

After the loaded mandrel 40 is in horizontal position the motor 86 is operated to drive lead screw 80 thereby advancing the carrier 90 with a roller 56 in engagement between the spaced plates 92 to drive the platen assembly on the horizontal mandrels in a direction to strip the bundle 46 oft" onto receiving device 50. After the bundle has been stripped the motor 86 is reversed to retract the platen assembly on the horizontal mandrels thereby returning the roller 56 through the opening 108 in the cam track and positioning the roller in the cam track to follow the non-radial path 102. The next operation of the motor 36 which rotates the assembly through an additional 90 causes the roller 56 in cam track 102 to retract the platen 42 which moves from the horizontal mandrel position to the vertical position beneath the delivery device 44. This path for the platen 42 which is travelling to the loading position is indicated in FIG. 1 at 125. The path is determined as being equidistant from its mating roller 56 which is following the non-radial cam track 102. This roller when discharged from the cam track 102 crosses the bridging shelf 111 and is supported by the carrier 70 which has been run to the top of the lead screw 58 during the first 90 rotation above described. This return of the carrier is possible since the roller 56 has disengaged from the carrier 70 at its lower position and the weight of the bundle and mandrel is supported by the lower wall of the radial cam track ltltl. As the roller 56 leaves the carrier 7-0 at its lower position and approachm the carrier 90 it passes through the slot 99 in the flange of H-section 98 in order to enter the space between the parallel plates 92 for horizontal displacement by rotation of the screw 80.

Thus each 90 rotation of the set of mandrels when four mandrels are employed advances an empty mandrel into delivery position beneath the delivery device 44 with a portion of the mandrel projecting to initially locate the coils accumulated on the shelf 45 during the period of rotation. The carrier 70 is raised to its upper supporting position opposite the exit 110 of cam track 102 and the roller 56 which has left the lower position of carrier 70 has moved into engagement between the plates 92 of the carrier 90. The roller 56 on the loaded platen has also moved opposite the exit opening 108 in the cam track 100. The shelf 45 can then be opened and the accumulation of a new bundle started. During the accumulation of the new bundle the horizontal stripping action can take place and the loaded bundle 46 removed as previously described. Generally the piling of the bundle on the mandrel will provide sufficient time for retracting the horizontal platens before the next rotation takes place but for small bundles the device would be modified to save the time taken for this step if desired.

While a particular four mandrel construction has been described it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many other arrangements of mandrels both in number and physical displacement are possible within the teaching of the present invention. The invention, accordingly, is not to be limited to the device disclosed but only by the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Appartus for forming bundles of coils received in continual sequence from a delivery device comprising:

(a) a hub supporting multiple cantilever mandrels and rotatable about an axis to position said mandrels successively in a coil receiving position adjacent said delivery device and thereafter to an unloading position angularly displaced from said receiving position;

(b) a platen movable along each of said mandrels between a position adjacent the supported end of the mandrel and a delivery position at the free end of the mandrel;

(c) means operative for mandrels in said receiving position for initially supporting said platens at a position adjacent the free end of the mandrel and actuable to move said platens toward the hub supported end of said mandrel;

(d) means opeartive for mandrels in said delivery position for driving said platens from the position adjacent said hub supported end of said mandrel to said position at the free end of the mandrel; and

(e) means for retracting said platens from said posi tion at the free end of the mandrel to said position adjacent the free end of the mandrel for mandrels that are moved into said receiving position."

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said hub is mounted for rotation on a substantially horizontal axis and said mandrels are diametrically aligned on opposite sides of said hub in a plane normal to said axis.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which said platens are movably supported on said mandrels and including rigid connecting members extending between said platens on the diametrically aligned mandrel to make an interconnected frame rnovably supported at each end on said mandrels by said platens.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 in which said platens on mandrels in said receiving or delivery positions are moved along said mandrels by actuators engaging the platen on the diametrically opposite mandrel.

5. Apparatus according to claim 2 and including means for temporarily accumulating coils in said delivery device to permit rotation of an empty mandrel into said vertical position, said position adjacent the free end of the mandrels for platens on mandrels in said vertical position providing an extension of the mandrel above the platen suflicient to receive and guide the temporarily accumulated coils when delivered by said delivery device.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 in which the means for temporarily accumulating coils in said delivery device comprises support means slidable into the path of said coils and means for severing the strand of said coils at said support means.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 in which said hub supports two pairs of diametrically aligned mandrels with the diameters of alignment normal to each other and with said rigid connecting members extending between said platens on each pair spaced to freely pass said hub and said rigid connecting members extending between said platens on the other pair.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 in which each of said platens has a follower projecting into an adjac nt plane parallel to the plane of rotation of said connecting members and the means for moving said platens includes driven horizontal and vertical linear actuators in said adjacent plane each having a nut assembly thereon adapted to be engaged by said followers as said mandrels are rotated to be parallel to said linear actuators thereby moving said platens to slide along said mandrels as said linear actuators are driven.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8 in which said means for retracting includes a cam surface in said adjacent plane engaged successively by said followers as each of said mandrels moves into said vertical position, said cam surface being operative to move the platen on the man- 7 at the free end of said mandrel to said position adjacent the free end.

10. Apparatus for forming bundles of coils received in continual sequence from an overhead delivery device comprising:

(a) a hub supported for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis;

(b) four mandrels mounted on said hub extending normal to said axis and spaced 90 between adjacent mandrels;

(c) means for rotating said hub to indexed positions which place said spokes successively in vertical or horizontal positions;

(d) a platen slidably mounted on each of said mandrels;

(e) rigid connecting members extending between the platens on diametrically opposite mandrels, said members connecting one pair of platens being spaced from said members connecting to the other pair of platens in order to move past said hub without interference between said members;

(f) a stationary frame adjacent and spaced from the plane of rotation of said mandrels, said frame having a vertical support member and a horizontal support member positioned respectively along one indexed position of adjacent mandrels;

(g) a carrier on each of said support members, each said carrier constrained to slide along a respective support member and having a coupling fixed to the carrier;

(h) linear actuators mounted on each of said support members and operable to translate a coupling along said members respectively; and

(j) a follower projecting from each of said platens toward said frame, each said follower engageable successively with said carriers when said hub is rotated to said indexed positions to place said mandrels along said supporting members thereby moving the platens engaged with said carriers upon actuation of said linear actuators.

11. Apparatus according to claim 10 in which said carrier on said horizontal support member engages said followers for driving engagement in both directions for stripping a bundle of coils from a loaded mandrel in horizontal position by driving the platen upon which said bundle was piled to a position at the free end of said loaded mandrel and returning the platen to a position adjacent said hub, and in which said carrier on said vertical support member engages the under side of said followers for supporting and lowering the corresponding platen.

12. Apparatus according to claim 11 and including additional means for retracting the platen on the mandrel moving into vertical position under said delivery device so the free end of the mandrel projects above the platen to provide a central guide for the first coils deposited by said delivery device.

13. Apparatus according to claim 12 in which said additional means comprises a cam track mounted on said frame with one open end of said track positioned to receive the follower on a platen on a mandrel in horizontal position after a bundle has been stripped by advancing said platen and retracting it to said position adjacent said hub and the other open end of said track is positioned to discharge said follower a greater distance from said hub at the upper position of the carrier on said vertical support member whereby the diametrically opposite platen will be retracted from said position at the free end of the mandrel under said loading device by the amount of said greater distance.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS NATHAN L. MINTZ, Primary Examiner. 

